Panel oversees product safety and consumer issues; Senator to continue efforts on corporate reform, passenger safety; Fitzgerald granted special waiver by leadership to head three subcommittees

WASHINGTON, DC...U.S. Senator Peter G. Fitzgerald (R-IL) today was named Chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs and Product Safety, giving Fitzgerald the responsibility of overseeing a wide range of consumer safety and product liability issues. As chairman, Fitzgerald said he will focus on strengthening safeguards for American consumers, particularly children and seniors.

Senate Republicans voted unanimously to approve a special waiver allowing Fitzgerald to be chairman of three subcommittees, marking a departure from the traditional practice of allowing senators to head a maximum of two subcommittees. Fitzgerald is also Chairman of 1) the Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Financial Management, the Budget, and International Security and 2) the Agriculture Subcommittee on Research, Nutrition, and General Legislation.

"I thank Senate Majority Leader Frist and all my Republican colleagues for the unique opportunity to serve as chairman of three key subcommittees. Their support is of tremendous assistance to my constituents in Illinois," said Fitzgerald. "We have important work ahead of us in each of these subcommittees. I look forward to working with my colleagues to hold hearings on key issues and to push for reforms that will benefit consumers, farmers, and taxpayers."

As the top Republican on the Consumer Affairs panel since mid-2001, Fitzgerald, along with chairman Byron Dorgan (D-ND), led the subcommittee’s investigation into the collapse of Enron Corporation. When he held the subcommittee chairmanship during the first half of 2001, Fitzgerald conducted hearings on key consumer issues such as child passenger safety, Mad Cow Disease, and nutrition supplements.

"As chairman, I intend to maintain and assert the subcommittee’s role as a watchdog and an advocate for consumers," said Fitzgerald. "The subcommittee will continue to be active in exploring a broad range of consumer issues, from corporate and financial accountability to product safety and reliability."

Under the leadership of Fitzgerald and Dorgan, the Consumer Affairs Subcommittee obtained critical information from former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling and other top Enron officers, whistleblower Sherron Watkins, stock analysts, and other industry experts that contributed to the American public’s understanding of what went wrong at Enron – once the country’s seventh largest corporation. Former Enron CEO Ken Lay appeared before the subcommittee but did refused to testify, invoking the fifth amendment. In part because of the subcommittee’s investigation, lawmakers debated a number of key corporate reforms and enacted several measures aimed at making companies more accountable to the investing public.

"We learned a great deal from our Enron investigation about shortcomings in our existing system of corporate checks and balances. Congress has taken some steps to strengthen corporate accountability, but there is still more to be done," said Fitzgerald, who last year proposed legislation to reform the way companies account for stock options and require stock analysts to disclose their personal and business ties to the companies whose stock they rate. "I anticipate that the Consumer Affairs and Product Safety Subcommittee will continue to study investor safeguards and possible corporate reforms."

Fitzgerald has also used his position on the Consumer Affairs Subcommittee, which oversees the Consumer Product Safety Commission, to push for stricter federal guidelines for testing the safety of child car seats and booster seats. Car crashes are the leading cause of death among children in the U.S.

Last year, Congress passed and President Bush signed "Anton’s Law," a Fitzgerald bill designed to reduce automobile-related injuries and deaths to children. The legislation improves federal testing standards for booster seats and requires automakers to upgrade car safety features so parents can more effectively use booster seats to protect their children. Another Fitzgerald measure, which modernizes federal testing of car seats for younger children and provides parents with better information about the safety features of car seats, was signed into law in 2000.

"We have made great progress in enhancing passenger safeguards for children by improving child seat testing, making booster seats more effective and easier to use, and providing parents with better information about child passenger safety. I look forward to continuing our work on child passenger safety as chairman," concluded Fitzgerald.
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FITZGERALD HAILS SENATE PASSAGE OF PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BAN:

WASHINGTON, DC...U.S. Senator Peter G. Fitzgerald (R-Illinois) today thanked his colleagues in the Senate for passing the Santorum-Fitzgerald ban on partial-birth abortions.

"I think that banning partial-birth abortions is an issue about which people on both sides of the abortion debate can agree," said Fitzgerald following the vote. "We are banning a particularly cruel and inhumane procedure."

Fitzgerald is the lead co-sponsor of legislation, introduced last month by Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania), prohibiting doctors from performing a specific procedure, called a partial-birth abortion, in which the person performing the abortion partially delivers the baby and kills it before completing the delivery.

"During my years in the Senate, I have listened to my colleagues’ impassioned pleas to ban the inhumane treatment of bears, deer, dolphins, and other animals. A number of us often feel the obligation to protect these animals who cannot protect themselves," stated Fitzgerald. "Legislation banning partial-birth abortions is a question of basic humaneness, a plea for care and empathy directed towards our most helpless members of society. I don’t understand how those who can hear the howl of a wolf or a squeal of a dolphin can be deaf to the cry of an unborn child."

Thousands of partial-birth abortions are performed each year in this country, many for elective reasons, on healthy babies of healthy mothers. These abortions take place in the second or third trimester of pregnancy, and many experts agree that babies 20 weeks and beyond are fully capable of experiencing the pain of the procedure. The American Medical Association has said this procedure is "not good medicine."

"Unborn children have had to wait far too long for the protection they deserve from this barbaric procedure. This bill will save lives," continued Fitzgerald. "I urge my colleagues in the House to pass this important legislation and send it up to President Bush."

The Santorum-Fitzgerald legislation is similar to bills vetoed by President Clinton in the 104th and 105th Congresses. In the 106th Congress, the House and Senate failed to reach a conference agreement, and last year the House passed a version of the bill, but it was not brought up by the Senate.

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FITZGERALD DISCUSSES I-74 BRIDGE IMPROVEMENTS WITH QUAD CITIES GROUP:

WASHINGTON, DC...U.S. Senator Peter G. Fitzgerald (R-IL) met recently with members of the Quad Cities Development Group to discuss economic issues affecting the region, including revitalization of the I-74 Bridge.

"We had a productive discussion about many issues important to the Quad Cities economy, particularly the need to improve travel through the I-74 Bridge," said Fitzgerald, noting the bridge’s importance to the Quad Cities’ economy and transportation network. "I look forward to working with Quad Cities officials to help address the region’s transportation needs."

The I-74 Bridge, which crosses the Mississippi River, is an important thoroughfare for many of the nation’s travelers, particularly for central Illinois residents, Fitzgerald explained. However, poor design and deteriorating infrastructure have rendered it incapable of accommodating current traffic volumes. Approximately 75,000 vehicles cross the I-74 Bridge daily.

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SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES CARLYLE HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANT:

WASHINGTON, DC...U.S. Senator Peter G. Fitzgerald (R-IL) today announced that the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has approved legislation to help the City of Carlyle construct a hydroelectric power plant. Fitzgerald, who proposed the measure earlier this year, said the plant would enable communities in southwestern Illinois to use water flowing through the Carlyle Lake Dam to help meet their energy needs.

"Since Carlyle Lake was formed, surrounding communities have not had a hydroelectric power plant to make use of the lake’s tremendous potential as a renewable energy source," said Fitzgerald. "This legislation is an easy and environmentally safe approach to meeting the energy needs of southwestern Illinois. I applaud my colleagues for approving this bill and hope the full Senate will soon follow suit."

In 1967, the Army Corps of Engineers formed Carlyle Lake by building a dam on the Kaskaskia River. However, it failed to build a hydroelectric power plant necessary for local communities to use the lake’s water flow as an energy source. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted Southwestern Electric Cooperative a license to begin construction of a power plant in 1997, but the cooperative surrendered the license after it was unable to begin the project in the required time period.

To facilitate the construction of a plant, Fitzgerald’s bill would permit the FERC to reinstate the license. It would also extend the deadline to begin construction so that Carlyle has time to properly design a facility.

Carlyle estimates that a hydroelectric power plant would provide more than one-third its annual energy needs.

Last week, Fitzgerald urged members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to quickly approve the measure and pave the way for its consideration by the full Senate. The House recently approved identical legislation proposed by Illinois Congressman John Shimkus.

According to a new Citizens for a Sound Economy poll, 57% favor the President's plan once they hear what is in it. For Democrats the opposite is true, by a 53% to 28% margin, voters disapprove of the way Democrats are handling the economy.

When Americans hear the specific ideas in President Bush's plan they approve by overwhelming margins.

83% support increasing the child tax credit to $1000 per child;
80% believe we should end the unfair marriage tax penalty;
78% want help those recently unemployed by extending benefits;
77% support establishing personal re-employment accounts;
69% recognize that increasing small business deductions for equipment will spur investment and job creation;
67% endorse helping lower income families by moving them to the lowest income tax bracket;
67% want more money in their pockets by reducing the federal tax taken out of their paycheck;
57% support that eliminating the unfair double taxation on dividends.
Rather than continuing to attack the President's ideas, Democrats should join with the overwhelming majority of Americans and work with him to pass these needed reforms to grow our economy and create jobs. With you help this week they might just get the message.

Today, March 14, 2003, the Chicagoland Chapter, a member of the Free Republic Network, announces a Rally for America to be held on March 22, 2003 from 11:30 am to 2 pm in Federal Plaza, Chicago, IL (Map 1 and Map 2). The rally will consist of speakers, flag waving Patriots, and pro-Americanism. We will support our troops, display our support for America's anti-terrorism efforts, and best of all - enjoy each others company.

We have a commitment from Kevin McCullough from WYLL 1160 AM radio in Chicago. Other noted speakers will be released soon.

We will be extending invitations to many organizations in the Chicago area. If you have a contact in an organization that would like to join us, please send them a link to this thread.

Official News Releases will be sent to all Chicago area news organizations.

For further information on the Rally for America, including other nationwide rallies, visit Free Republic Network. Resources available to us are also included in this link.

==>President Ronald Reagan March 15, 1984